Monthly Archives: January 2016

NEW YORK, January 19, 2016 — A panel of prominent property/casualty insurance executives forecast a challenging 2016, as the diminishing tailwinds of reserve releases struggle against headwinds of low interest rates. The five senior executives gave their forecast and other market insights at the 20th annual Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum, held here on January 12,…

Scientists: El Niño may boost tornadoes By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The lights flickered as skies spiked with thunder and lightning near Yvette Hicks’ Cape Coral home on Saturday.She went for a candle, but the kitchen window exploded before she could even strike a match. Everything went black.Outside, in the darkness that…

Tell Mel: Rebates and benefits: Beware of fraud MELANIE PAYNE, TELLMEL@NEWS-PRESS.COM 7:02 a.m. EST January 13, 2016 Today’s column is an emergency read for anyone whose home was damaged by Saturday’s tornado and must-read for anyone who might ever have to file a claim on their homeowner’s insurance. The first warning is about contractors offering to rebate…

“You can see tarps all up on the roof,” said Louie Maier. “I’m getting phone calls every two minutes. Somebody calling for repairs, for insurance companies, adjusters.” Two days after Saturday’s tornado, the growing list of repairs is painfully evident. “And I have a gutter that’s destroyed,” said Josie Viens. “The biggest cost, I think…

More than a dozen Florida real estate, construction and insurance groups announced Tuesday that they are teaming up to push for homeowners’ insurance reform in the 2016 Legislative Session. The Consumer Protection Coalition seeks to curb a practice known as “assignment of benefits,” where owners sign away their insurance policy to a third party who…

TALLAHASSEE — After more than a decade as Florida’s chief insurance regulator, Kevin McCarty resigned Tuesday, nearly a year after he overcame a failed effort by Gov. Rick Scott to get rid of him. McCarty invited reporters from the Times/Herald and two other news outlets to his office to break the news of his departure,…

After one of the most tumultuous years since Republicans assumed control of the Florida Legislature – the GOP-controlled House and Senate return this week for a 60-day jaunt that many legislative leaders hope/predict is relatively calm and uneventful heading into what could be a highly unpredictable election year. Most insiders of course can recount the…

An election-year budget that includes huge tax cuts, record funding for public schools and a new initiative to bring jobs to Florida might be good politics for lawmakers. The question is whether they can afford it. When lawmakers start the 2016 legislative session Tuesday, it will have been years since the House and Senate were…

Stopping short of an endorsement, Rick Scott praised Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump for “capturing the frustration of many Americans” in a column Florida’s governor wrote Wednesday for USA Today. In the piece headlined “Donald Trump has America’s pulse,” Scott said he didn’t plan to endorse a candidate before Florida’s March presidential primary. But Scott…